Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that applications for Emergency Travel Documents are processed in line with her Department's service standards.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is responsible for issuing Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs) to British people overseas who do not have their full passport available and who need to travel urgently. The published target is that, in straightforward cases, ETDs will normally be ready in two working days once a full and complete application is received.

In a normal year the FCDO issues over 30,000 ETDs. To ensure we can provide a more consistent service, in line with the published target, the FCDO has recently completed a global programme to centralise ETD processing into a specialised global ETD service centre in three locations. From May 2021 all British people have been able to apply online 24/7, and have their application processed by dedicated ETD staff, with the option to collect their ETD in person from a British Embassy or Consulate or, for those eligible, have it couriered to them. The ETD service centre frees up other consular staff at posts overseas to focus on delivering high quality, professional consular assistance to those who most need our help.

The FCDO is continuously improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the service it offers to British people requiring an ETD. It uses customer satisfaction surveys and feedback to develop the application process as well as collection and courier options. The latest satisfaction survey (Q3/Q4 2020-21) records that 89% of applicants are satisfied with the ETD service they receive.